Healing
by RoseScor90
Summary: Will Katie ever pull herself up from her misery? Will she ever see that light at the end of the tunnel? Or will she need help from a Quidditch fanatic? R&R!


Disclaimer: Not JK…

A/n: Written for the Hogwarts Online prompt of the Day, for 28th January's prompt – "**If you could read my mind, Love, what a tale my thoughts would tell," **My first attempt at a direct Oliver/Katie so please review!

Katie was sitting at the very back of the room, in the most shadowed corner, sulking. She was supposed to be celebrating. She had been released from St Mungo's afterall, and she was to go back to school in a few days. Her visit to the hospital all blurred into one mess of pain and nasty potions smell. The only thing she could remember clearly was that her parents had been with her all through her stay and that she shouldn't be moping when they had been so kind as to throw a celebration for her recovery despite all the attacks going around.

But somehow, Katie couldn't find the strength in her to get up and mingle. All she could think of was the war that was looming over their heads like a cloud of Dementors, stifling their spirit, their happiness, their very will to live. What was the point anyway? Each of them here was going to die one by one. She was going to be subject to the pain of watching their faces appear in the Prophet one day, she knew that. There was no hope. Why, oh _Why_ did she survive? Why couldn't she have been the first one to go so that she wouldn't have to experience all the anxiety and the hopelessness?

Sighing depressedly, Katie looked around at those gathered there. Her lips lifted in the first genuine smile of the evening when she spotted Fred and George trying to slip her youngest nephew what she knew was a Puking Pastille. Her parents had invited almost all her friends who could come, right from Angie and Alicia to the Weasley twins. It would have been perfect if her entire old Quidditch team could have been here but then Harry would have had to come and that would have made a simple party a public stunt. Katie shook her head ruefully; poor Harry. The guy deserved a normal life after all that he had gone through but no, noone in the wizarding world was willing to give the guy the one thing he wanted.

There was the sound of booming laughter from the center of the room and Katie could vaguely see yellow fur amidst the crowd. Must have been another of their joke products. Katie chuckled to herself; no wonder they were always surrounded by people. The Weasley twins were fun, they made people happy. Whereas she, she was just a good Quidditch player turned cynic.

"I thought you'd forgotten how to smile" a random voice behind her sent shiver down her spine. The charming, note the sarcasm here, face of Oliver Wood graced her vision and Katie scowled. Somehow over the past months, Oliver had, unintentionally and against her wishes, become a constant in her life. It had all started when Oliver had had an accident during his training and had been brought to St Mungo's. He had spotted her when he had been discharged, and had come by to talk to her. She had been in the early stages of recovery back then, and the potion had made her sleepy almost all the time so she did not know what had transpired between them. But whatever the case, Oliver had taken it up as his routine to visit her everyday from then on. Katie couldn't remember a day of her stay there that hadn't had the tanned, ridiculously child like face of the Quidditch star in it. She wouldn't have been all that bothered; she appreciated his effort, honestly she did, but it was his perpetual optimism and sunny smile that irked her and made her snap. The world was a dangerous place filled with death, the sooner he accepted it, the happier everyone could be. But of course, when did things ever go her way?

"Olly" she called him by the nickname the twins had invented; she knew he hated being called that.

"Still spreading around the love, are you?" he asked mockingly, in a poor imitation of her sulk. She couldn't help but laugh.

"I think Fred and George do the joker role pretty well without you applying for it too"

"Oh don't worry. I'll stick with Quidditch. It's more fun anyway" he sat beside her on the couch, his legs lying over the armrest, leaning his back on her right shoulder. Katie shook her head sympathetically, not at all at unease with his proximity. She seriously thought the fall from his broom had messed with his head; why else would he behave like this, almost as if he was _flirting_ with her? But she had gotten used to it by now and merely gave him a shove with her shoulder.

"You mean all the fun you've been having _off_ the field, huh?" While it was true that Oliver was no playboy, there had been no lack of gossip about his dates that never lasted for more than a day. Witch Weekly had once described him as elusive and flighty as a bird out of the cage.

"Hey, you know half those are false. I mean, the one with me and that Holyhead Harpies player. What was her name? I was with you that entire day, remember?" oh she remembered all too well. They'd had a good laugh over the speculations about which team player was trying to milk information from which.

"But the rest are true, aren't they?" Oliver lifted his legs from the side of the couch and sat properly, his hand coming around her shoulders in a casual, almost absent gesture that would have gone unnoticed, if she hadn't been so attuned to his actions and thoughts. As it was, she tried to shrug his hand off, but he was just too adamant. Resigning herself to his closeness, she closed her eyes, a sudden exhaustion taking over her. Meetings with Oliver always took so much of her energy, since she had to stay keen and quick, or you'd find yourself agreeing to something you wouldn't have in a thousand lifetimes; like now.

"Dance with me" Katie tried to look like she was surprised, but she knew he'd bring something crazy like this up again. It was always one thing or the other; play Exploding Snap with me, teach me this spell, help me with that essay, do this with me, do that for me. She also knew that Oliver was relentless when it came to getting something he wanted. One dance couldn't hurt, right? Sighing, she stood up, eliciting a full blown grin from him. Katie had to admit, those girls at school who had fawned over him had a reason for doing so. He was handsome, when he wasn't being a thorn in her side.

They didn't talk much while they danced, merely because Oliver knew Katie hadn't recovered fully. She got tired sometimes, and handling banter and dancing at the same time would drain her. And there was the fact that he liked to just look at her, without having to think up a witty retort at the same time. Frankly, she was too distracting for him to do anything else alongside.

"Have I shocked you into silence?" Katie was the one that broke the comfortable silence between them, and Oliver grinned; she never could tolerate silence.

"No, I'm just admiring the pretty girl dancing with me"

"Very funny, Oliver. Now, tell me what's running through that mind of yours?"

_If you could read my mind, Love, what a tale my thoughts would tell _thought Oliver as they swayed to the music. Oh how he wished to twirl her around and watch her laugh that carefree laugh that had been her usual reaction to him. It was as if that damned cursed necklace had sucked all her happiness and her _shine_ out of her, leaving behind a dull contemptuous version of her. He couldn't help but like her, but that made him incapable of seeing her hurt herself and drown herself deeper in misery.

She said she detested his visits, but Oliver could see that she expected him; she said she wanted to be left alone, but it only appeared as if she lived when he was there with her; she said she'd much rather die, but he could see the flame of life and hope blaze in her every time their eyes locked. That very flame was what drew him to her.

"I'm just thinking about how much I'll miss you once you get back to school"

"And I, am happy that you won't be there to bother me anymore" but her eyes were sad, as if she genuinely regretted returning to school. Oliver thought for one second about slipping a word to her parents about how dangerous it was for her to go back; they'd immediately agree. As it was, Katie was the one insisting that she needed to finish her education. It would be the most selfish thing he ever did, though and he'd never go against her wishes. Oliver drew Katie closer unconsciously, as if that would stop the impending separation.

"I'll visit during the Hogsmeade visits, yeah?"

"I'll call in sick during those days" she replied, but her voice was more jovial than biting, and Oliver clung on to the little joy she was expressing.

"I'll have to visit you at the Infirmary then" Oliver smirked. Katie just punched his arms as a retort, finding no escape. The evening was almost drawing to a close, all of the invitees were lounging in the garden watching the night sky and Oliver was wondering how much longer he could trespass on the Bells' hospitality when Katie, in an uncharacteristically soft, low voice, asked.

"You _will_ visit, won't you? You won't forget me, right? What with all those sluts throwing themselves at your feet?" there was such a longing in her eyes that he could never have said no even if he had wanted to, which he most definitely did not.

"May be I'll call in sick at practice and sneak into Hogwarts?" he grinned his most dazzling grin at her, and Katie, for once, smiled back, albeit a bit reservedly.

Just then, a small explosion was heard and Katie belatedly realized that the twins had brought their fireworks collection. Standing in the garden of her childhood home, her hands twined in Oliver's and her head resting on his shoulder, she did not think of how the noise was going to attract Death Eaters. She only thanked her lucky stars that noone could hear her heart that was slowly mending itself, thanks to a stupid, undeterred Quidditch freak.

A/n: Please do review!


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